User reviews

As mini series go they do not come much better than this. A brilliant portrayal of what life was like for those unfortunate people who found themselves without work at the beginning of the 1980's. A depressing testament to the power wielded by political leaders and the total indifference shown by those in work to those without it. All young and sceptical people bored by the stories told them by parents who were affected by events portrayed in this series should take a look see. Then they will realise that the stories they have heard are in fact true. A lesson for all which, when once seen, must never be forgotten. Comedy, pathos, bathos you name it, it has it all. Wonderfully acted. Not a poor performance anywhere to be seen. Has great educational value.

Boys from the Black Stuff is more than just a story. It's a snapshot of a special time in a special place. Liverpool in the 1980's could be a bleak and despairing place, with only the common threads of unemployment and humour keeping spirits alive. The story centres on the struggle of a ragged band of workers trying to make ends meet. On the way we see scams, subterfuge, corruption and the ongoing battle between the workers and the 'sniffers' (welfare benefit fraud investigators).

The locations are superb, painting a grisly accurate portrait of the time, with much of the filming done in Liverpool 8.

The language and dialogue also help capture the spirit of the time, with idiomatic 'scouse' used without apology.

Perhaps the best summary of the whole series is encapsulated in a line from the opening scenes in the first episode. Whilst establishing the number of dependents a claimant has, he is told that his grown up children who are 'on the dole' don't count. His response: "Nobody on the dole counts,love".

Recently released on dvd, this series is a documented history of the sharp end of 'Thatcher's Millions' - watch it if you can.

Alan Bleasdale's defining production. Almost unbearably tragic characters, yet Bleasdale manages to find the opportunity for rare wit in his dialogue. As good a T.V. series as there has ever been. Truly the work of a genius.

This series is being reshown on T.V. at the moment and it reminds one on how drama should be made. True the subject matter about poverty and unemployment in 80's Britain was a strong one for the writer,producer,director& actors to rise to. But they do it with the peak of professionalism,realism & creativity, seldom seen in more recent T.V. ( or Film for that matter ) output.

All the episodes which make up the series really move the watcher even today and it sends echoes out to everyone living in 90's Britain towards the turn of the century where some similar themes as explored in this piece are still more than ever relevant today.

Boys from the Blackstuff was first screened by the BBC in 1982.

It is in my opinion the finest drama series the BBC have ever produced. Poignant and emotive. There are not enough superlatives to describe this drama.

The script was second to none and Bleasdale's use of dialogue was excellent. Although the dialogue and setting was very disquieting for the most part, there were some lighter sides.

I have had the opportunity of seeing this series again recently, almost a quarter of a century since its first airing and to me it has lost nothing. I also feel that the latest generation of TV viewers would thoroughly enjoy watching this tremendous series.

Perhaps the BBC would consider re-screening Boys from the Blackstuff in 2007 in celebration of its 25th anniversary. I would not mind betting it would be in line for more awards.

Plutus

This series is a brilliant insight to the devastation of Liverpool during the 80's it shows the hardship of job seekers and the many people who went through these times unemployed and deprived of their jobs and their futures where therefore destroyed by the high level of Unemployement during this period the five episodes are all written with a hilarious wit and a brilliant raw expression of life during this time that will make you laugh cry and feel for the characters and their situations the most touching story is Yossers Story it is brilliant and well written with a sense of comedy throughout although the results are upsetting. Yosser Hughes the Liverpool lad with his three Children alone living in a squalor he is desperate for a companion and finds himself alone when his wife tells social services of her torment suffered at the hands of Yosser (This a complete lie Yosser would not hurt his children or his wife) so they take his children and evict him he is beaten by the brutal Police who feel no remorse after they beat him to a pulp in his bare living room then he is left alone in the house desperate for work he tries to find a job at various areas of work but is never successful and in the end he is arrested and tries to drown himself to escape the life he has bean given. The brilliance within the series is the ability to upset you and make you laugh at the same time and finally realise the severity of unemployment during this period the whole series is absolutely brilliant and should be viewed by all because it is an outstanding look at life the history of a time in which Liverpool suffered the most and is an outstanding portrait of life a ten out of ten experience you will never forget

If you are interested in what it was like to live in Thatcher's Britain in the eighties then look no futher. You need a strong stomach - especially for Yosser's Story. Memories of Cathy Come Home from the sixties spring to mind. It's good, it's real and it hurts to watch it - that's WHY it should be seen. Thanks Alan Bleasdale- for seeing and telling it like it is.

This is an absolute masterpiece, in fact I cannot convey really in words how good this series is.Very humorous in parts, but very dark also, it portrays working class Liverpool in 1980s Britain, when the North was ostricised by the soulless Margaret Thatcher, it takes us back to a day where people cared for each other, before the world became very selfish and decided to go with the "bugger you jack I'm alright culture", I long for the day when humanity can care for each other like they did in this series, unfortunately I doubt that will ever happen again. It also questions the role of religion, why should we have any respect for a god who only seems to bring us suffering.Bleasdale is a genius,and great acting by pretty much the entire cast led, by the likes of Hill,Angelis,Walters.

Tells it like it was. The despotic Margaret Thatcher as prime minister; England was in dire straits as her mindless right-wing philosophy saw taxpayer-owned assets sold to private or foreign investors while they ignored the plight of the workers. Few can forget that, after sending British soldiers off to a Falklands War, she could turn on the "same class" of people with such appalling savagery and neglect...

Brilliant gritty writing makes this a gripping dramatic series.

While Bleasdale wrote a lot of this before it was screened, it has always been obvious to me that the BBC put it on the year after the great success of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, on ITV, done by the then Central TV franchise rather than Tyne Tees TV, the franchise for the area where the Auf Wiedersehen Pet boys are from.

AWP covered the same subject as BFTBS, the joblessness of working class blokes from the north where de-industrialisation was taking away their livelihood and way of life.

But the difference was the AWP dealt with it with guts and optimism and, to paraphrase a misused quote from a Tory at the time, 'they got on their bikes and looked for work', and did it with good humour as well as having some human problems along the way. By contrast, the writer of BFTBS made it overly and overtly political so you couldn't believe in the characters. Instead, the much better writers of AWP would have the leader of the gang, Dennis, say stuff to his mates within a plot: 'I've seen blokes like you before, you lose your money, you lose your passports, and you get absurdly patriotic for a country that couldn't employ you in the first place!'.

Much, much better. For me, people like Bleasdale give succour to the people who call Liverpool 'Self Pity City'.

Liverpudlians, Scousers, love to think they are funny. They are not.

The Geordies of AWP were funny, and Geordies generally are.

No wonder AWP got two more series, which BFTBS didn't. BFTBS only got its chance because it was funded by a British poll tax called the TV licence fee.

TV executives could do with watching this masterpiece, in the hope that they remember that not all British TV dramas have to be set in a hospital or a police station......And they don't have to be sh*t either. Boys... had top scripts, top acting and even the BBC weather forecast camerawork gives it an unparralelled sense of authenticity. Pure quality.

In these days of ours, some say that nobody does dialogue and realism quite like Quentin Tarantino does, well, they obviously haven't seen much of Alan Bleasdales work then.

This is real, gritty and sometimes bleak stuff. I have never seen anything in film or on T.V that catches a moment in time and crystallises it so perfectly as 'Boys From The Blackstuff' does.

There is a sharp tinny sound quality and a graininess (even on DVD) to the picture that give this an almost documentary feel now. That coupled with the script and performances only add to the power of the piece as a whole. (this is not inaudible or unwatchable, just the look and sound of film and T.V from a time gone by)

Five main characters who are friends and five 50 minute stories around each character. Most notable of which is episode 4 'Yosser's Story' but that's not to undermine any of the other episodes, they are all equally good with strong performances in each.

Yosser's Story though is a pretty tough watch and for this reason, memorable.... very memorable. You sort of see his life spiral downwards in the three prior episodes but here his life and mental health completely disintegrates.

So don't be put off that this was made in 1982 or that you might not know the writer or some of the actors, this IS as real as real gets and as relevant now as was then.

Alan Bleasdale is a genius writer and this show is some of his best work! Superb actors dark but reality is and this tells it as it is a must watch no matter how old it is

It's back on TV ! While it's 40 years ago it's still top class . Great acting and relevant to people of my vintage.it's one of the greatest BBC series - and they have produced some great programs.

What a great series.

I was a teenager when this came out and never watched it. I'm watching it now in my 50s. It is not easy going but it is amusing in parts and Bleasdale is brilliant in showing people's humanity even against the odds.

A series that beautifully captures the heartlessness of an unfettered Capitalist system, not to mention the disgrace that was the Thatcher years.

What an amazing surprise, beautifully written, great perfomances and that feel of realism that punch you in the stomach so hard makes this little Gem one of the best pieces of British television ever, just watch it !

Although this series and the mini film in particular were very important at the time of release, I feel that the series as a whole was actually fairly poorly written with a weak cast. The issues at heart are extremely well portrayed yet it is difficult to relate and understand the problems within the film when the acting and script isn't convincing enough (especially when looking at the mini film).

I also don't believe that this mini film or series has stood the test of time as now many of the scenes are quite laughable. The issues are still crucial but Boys From The Blackstuff cannot fully aid the cause of understanding the problems in Britain in the 1980s.

This series is a wonderfully realistic portrayal of life for the unemployed in the 1980s. It also manages to focus on characters, with all the cast giving magnificent performances, especially Bernard Hill as the deeply troubled Yosser Hughes. A masterpiece from start to end, this is one series that definitely should be repeated on TV. Another great thing is that you can watch and fully understand each episode without having to have seen any of the others.

The standard of writing , acting and direction in this series is top drawer and the poetry of the scenes stays with you. Every episode is strong and gets its message however my favourite is the final episode 'George's last ride ' with powerful scenes around the dying dock lands of Liverpool. Alan Bleasdales finest world by far.

Despite many of the comments on here suggesting otherwise, and the year that BFTBS was originally released, most of the series was written before the Conservative Party and Margaret Thatcher came to power (i.e. During the labour government of the late 1970's). So it was therefore a portrayal of the state of Britain that Maggie inherited, rather than an indictment of the (supposedly inhumane) policies that she had to create in order to drag the country out of the mess that Labour left it in.

I was born in 1982 and thankfully my family were living a very different life to the characters in BFTBS, however I really like this series and have watched it many times over. So putting politics aside, this is a brilliant portrayal of how grim life was for some people back then, especially in the North of England, and it should be remembered for the quality of the writing and acting, rather than attempted to be used by the lefties to make their (false) political arguments and demonise Thatcher.